Online Sources: Women at Work

"Provides information on the lawsuit filed against the Hamilton Manufacturing Co. by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Complaint against the Lowell, Massachusetts firm for having a woman work in its factory for more than 60 hours a week; The relevant statute; Arguments of the plaintiff and the defendant; More information."

"The War Labor Board (WLB) and its predecessor, the National Defense Mediation Board, had a profound impact on relations between employers and unions during World War II. The WLB—made up of representatives from government, labor, and management—provided protection for unions from hostile bosses, increased the wages of the lowest-paid workers, helped set industry-wide wage patterns, and established methods of resolving shop floor disputes. Although the WLB operated in routinized and bureaucratic ways, its decisions could also carry powerful ideological messages. That became clear in the following document, which insisted upon the policy of equal pay for equal work—a seemingly self-evident principle that was not standard practice in American industry. This board decision mandated equal pay for women."

"... contains 343 Informational pamphlets, government reports, instructions, regulations, declarations, speeches, and propaganda materials distributed by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) during the Second World War. "
Southern Methodist University, Central University Libraries, Government Resources

"Presents the text of Muller v. Oregon, a 1908 United States Supreme Court case regarding the constitutionality of state labor laws restricting the working hours of women. Issues in the case; Ruling of the court."

Presents a message delivered by the author, a United States representative from New York, on October 9, 1982 at the annual meeting of the National Association of Women Judges. Her speech about the importance to society of having women in leadership positions; Struggles she has overcome as a women in business and politics; The role of the so-called Old Boy Network; Wage discrimination that women face, in comparison to men.

"The Women's Employment, United States and Great Britain in the Early 20th Century Collection is held in the Macpherson Collection by and about Women at the Ella Strong Denison Library, Scripps College. Contents include magazine articles, flyers, song lyrics, pamphlets, studies, and clippings, published by labor unions, women’s groups, consumers’ leagues, and government bureaus. With the earliest dating from the 1890s, these documents focus primarily on wage inequality, work environments, and emerging labor legislation in the United States prior to World War II, from the sweatshops of New York to canning factories in Wisconsin. A smaller selection of British materials complements these resources, providing other perspectives about employment and suffrage, and chronicling efforts by women's clubs to improve the lives of working women. "

"This collection consists of correspondence, scrapbooks, clippings, college records, images, diaries, publications and ephemera documenting the history of women physicians beginning with the first medical school for women, Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP). "

"Women Working, 1800–1930 is a digital exploration of women's impact on the economic life of the United States between 1800 and the Great Depression. Working conditions, workplace regulations, home life, costs of living, commerce, recreation, health and hygiene, and social issues are among the issues documented in this online research collection from Harvard University."

"Wartime production demanded the mobilization of thousands of workers to make steel and rubber, to work in petrochemical industries, and to build ships. As a result, African Americans made striking gains in employment even while also facing continuing discrimination. Black women, for example, got jobs working on the railroads for the first time during the world war. Black women found jobs as laborers, cleaning cars, wiping engines, tending railroad beds. Helen Ross was one of them, working for the Santa Fe Railroad. In an interview with the Women’s Service Section of U.S. Railroad Administration, Ross described the advantages of her railroad job. Nevertheless, the same agency later declared such work too heavy for women."

"This anonymous worker articulated common grievances of domestic workers in her 1912 article in Outlook magazine. A veteran of thirty-three years of household labor, she protested the unsystematic work and arbitrary supervision of domestic service, the most common category of female employment until World War II. She advised,“If the mistress of the house . . . would treat housework like a business, and treat their maids like the employees of a business, many of the problems of domestic service would be solved.” Explicitly comparing domestic service and industrial work, this writer articulated the reasons that young women increasingly left household labor for the regular wages, fixed hours, and less intrusive supervision of factory jobs."

"Employers had many ways to retaliate against their workers who tried to organize, ranging from allies in state and local police forces to detective agencies that used secret operatives to disrupt unions and supplied thugs to protect strikebreakers during strikes. But the simplest expedient available was to simply fire employees who were perceived as potential troublemakers. In 1914, a former department store worker named Sylvia Schulman testified before the U. S. Commission on Industrial Relations. In the excerpt included here she described how she was fired simply for joining the retail clerk’s union."

"Although the 1970’s saw an increase of women entering non-traditional and unionized jobs, many skilled and building trades remained effectively closed to women. As a result, in many cities throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, private and city bus companies provided important opportunities for women interested in non-traditional jobs. Boasting large numbers of women and lesbians and an atmosphere of social tolerance, these jobs were seen as gay-friendly and provided female workers with a strong voice in union politics and a sense of community and solidarity. Shelley Ettinger became a bus driver in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1977. Encouraged to join by other lesbians, Ettinger remembered an atmosphere of female and lesbian camaraderie that expanded beyond the bus yard into social gatherings and soft-ball games."

Hearings before the Special Subcommittee on Education of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, Ninety-first Congress, second session, on section 805 of H.R. 16098, to prohibit discrimination against women in federally assisted programs and in employment in education; to extend the Equal Pay Act so as to prohibit discrimination in administrative, professional and executive employment; and to extend the jurisdiction of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to include sex.

At head of title: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Women's Bureau.
"Based on an analysis prepared by Constance Williams... survey was planned by Bertha M. Nienburg ... and Mary Elizabeth Pidgeon ... field work under the supervision of Eloise Ewing ... and the statistical work was directed by Isadore Spring."--Letter of transmittal.